Live Review: Edwyn Collins, London Mississippi

The backing band on this tour are the two lads who form London Mississippi. In the short afternoon timeslot, they provided a nice warm-up with two acoustic tracks. Taking turns to sing; the jaunty slightly country vibe was a nice way to settle in to the world-famous Spiegeltent and forget the frenzy of the Sydney Festival.
There's probably one thing most people know about Edwyn Collins – he sings that song A Girl Like You. One thing a lot of people don't know is that in 2005 he suffered a stroke. It has been a long road back, but from the opening line of the classic Falling And Laughing it was clear that the magic of his voice, its warmth of tone and depth of timbre are all still there. Covering some older and newer tracks the crowd sat in awe while Collins giggled and joked with his onstage compadres. Make Me Feel Again, Rip It Up and Losing Sleep were all great. The laughter on stage was constant, with a knowing look between players setting them off at any point. It was as though they were careening in a speeding car, pushing to the edge of losing control at any moment, but all the while screaming, 'faster, faster'. Collins' tribute to Lou Reed was heartfelt as Forsooth's refrain “Sunday is a good good feeling” rang all too true for the appreciative audience and the epic A Day In The Life-style finish had shivers running down my arms. That's despite the guitarist breaking the high E string mid-solo and having to retune and re-adjust his chords on the fly. Such mastery! Home Again and Felicity featured in the encore, along with the new single Don't Shilly Shally. As Collins walked off the stage there was a genuine sense of magic in the room. Forget Lou Reed, Neil Young or Elvis Costello, Edwyn Collins is the ultimate songwriting and life-living inspiration – not to mention that voice. The occasional cat gurgle as he tried to get his mouth around the more wordy verses is easily forgiven as true art, true romance and true joy is always found in the imperfections.